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TI-2022-25428 Aliases CVE-2022-49932GHSA-gfj7-8hq4-g63x

KVM: VMX: Do _all_ initialization before exposing /dev/kvm to userspace

Priority LOW 24CWE-476Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: VMX: Do _all_ initialization before exposing /dev/kvm to userspace Call kvm_init() only after _all_ setup is complete, as kvm_init() exposes /dev/kvm to userspace and thus allows userspace to create VMs (and call other ioctls). E.g. KVM will encounter a NULL pointer when attempting to add a vCPU to the per-CPU loaded_vmcss_on_cpu list if userspace is able to create a VM before vmx_init() configures said list. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP CPU: 6 PID: 1143 Comm: stable Not tainted 6.0.0-rc7+ #988 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:vmx_vcpu_load_vmcs+0x68/0x230 [kvm_intel] <TASK> vmx_vcpu_load+0x16/0x60 [kvm_intel] kvm_arch_vcpu_load+0x32/0x1f0 [kvm] vcpu_load+0x2f/0x40 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_create+0x231/0x310 [kvm] kvm_vm_ioctl+0x79f/0xe10 [kvm] ? handle_mm_fault+0xb1/0x220 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x80/0xb0 do_syscall_64+0x2b/0x50 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 RIP: 0033:0x7f5a6b05743b </TASK> Modules linked in: vhost_net vhost vhost_iotlb tap kvm_intel(+) kvm irqbypass

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00214 11th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 4.10, 4.15, 4.20 +6Red Hat: 2 without a fix

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux4.9.220 to before 4.10; 4.14.177 to before 4.15; 4.19.116 to before 4.20; 5.4.33 to before 5.5; 5.5.18 to before 5.6; 5.6.5 to before 5.74.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7Patch availableCNA
LinuxLinux5.7 and later6.1.20, 6.2.7, 6.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.9.220 to before 4.10; 4.14.177 to before 4.15; 4.19.116 to before 4.20; 5.4.33 to before 5.5; 5.5.18 to before 5.6; 5.6.5 to before 5.7 Fixed in 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 Patch available CNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 6.1.20, 6.2.7, 6.3 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 6.1.20; 6.2 to before 6.2.7VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 6.1.20; 6.2 to before 6.2.7 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.20, 6.2.7, 6.3

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Not affected: 3 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49932
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-gfj7-8hq4-g63x
  3. 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed

References

Patch 3

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
See all 15278 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences